


Finally

by punygod



Category: The Avengers (2012), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-12
Updated: 2013-04-12
Packaged: 2017-12-08 06:49:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/758338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punygod/pseuds/punygod
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which there is some taking apart</p>
            </blockquote>





	Finally

Captain America and Iron Man got along fine on the battlefield. Sometimes Iron Man would make a rash decision, but hey, he ended up saving everyone's asses in the end. And sometimes Captain America would run into a burning building to save a child and his uniform would turn to ashes and he'd be in critical for a day and a half, but at least he comes out walking on the other side.

Steve Rogers and Tony Stark, on the other hand, couldn't stand to be in the same room without spitting fiery words at each other. Words meant to demean and damage and cut through the other man's defenses and attack the part of him which hurt the most. They knew each other's flaws, knew where to strike, and when to strike, to bring the other to their knees. Knew which word to use to make the other recoil into a pit of self doubt that would keep him awake at night, and plunge him into nightmares.

Reckless.

_Hero._

Sacrifice.

_Experiment._

It was dangerous. To have another man have the ability to break you. To have him know your weaknesses and trust him enough _not_ to break you. Tony Stark held his weaknesses close to his heart. He covered them up with a counterfeit smile and an excess of bravado. Steve Rogers had torn threw that bullshit within seconds of meeting him. He'd seen men like Tony before. Crazy and erratic and smart. Able to conjure algorithms and parameters from thin air and yet still incapable of calculating their own self worth. He'd seen it bring a man to his end, and he thought it was a stupid, stupid end.

"You're going to kill yourself, Stark."

Just his luck. Here Tony was trying to relax a little with his bottle of scotch, down in his lab, and who has to waltz in fine and dandy and ruin all his fun? Steve fucking Rogers, of course. _Who gave this guy the codes?_

He turned on his stool to face the approaching Captain, mustering up the effort to place a smug grin on his face as he did so.

"It's just a little something to drown away my pains, Cap," he said lightly, but he should have known by now that he couldn't cover the truth with sarcasm with Steve, because Steve's ears were custom trained to Tony's bullshit and he could read every underlying seed of truth in each of Tony's words.

"Drown away your life, by the looks of it," Steve said, nodding towards the two bottles Tony had ready on the bench top; unopened for the present, but would surely be rolling around on the floor empty soon enough.

"What happens when Fury sends a call and we need Iron Man but he's not there because, oh look, he's drowning away his pains and drowning in his own _puke_." Steve's arms were crossed, everything about him radiating authority and power and _listen to what the fuck I'm saying, because you know I'm right_.

Tony stood up then.

"Oh sorry, is Captain America in the mood for another lecture? About how we should all be perfect like him? Hate to break it to you but some of us ordinary men need a drink or two a night to get to sleep."

Maybe because he needed to, or maybe because he wanted to rile Steve up even more, he downed his glass of scotch.

Steve glared. Yep, definitely to rile him up.

"A drink or two? Or a bottle or two? This is how your father became the man he was, Tony - don't let it happen to-"

"Don't tell me what to do, Rogers. Who the fuck do you think you are. You think because your ass is striped red blue and white you're the perfect role model? You think I should  
be like you? " _I can't be like you_ , he doesn’t say. He turns around to the bench top, not bearing to look at Steve. He reaches for the bottle of alcohol, but stops, instead picking up the gauntlet of his armour he had been working on.

How dare Steve make this about his father.

"This has nothing to do with me Tony," Steve said, his voice level, as if he was speaking to a child. "This is about you. This is about you making the same mistake over and over again."

"Ha," Tony lets out a laugh at that, turning around to face Steve, absently fitting his hand into the gauntlet. "And what mistake is that, may I ask, Captain?"

"You don't know who you are. You don't know what you're worth-"

"I'm insured for approximately-"

"This isn't a joke, Stark. This is your life-"

"What do you care, about _my_ life?" Tony snarled.

Steve opened his mouth, but just as quickly, shut it, working his jaw.

Tony scoffed. Of _course_ he doesn't care.

"You're not invincible, Tony." Steve's voice quiet. Still stern, but quieter.

Tony held up his hand. The one he was wearing his gauntlet on, and pointed the repulsor directly at Steve's face. Tony smirked. "I could take you apart with one blast."

Steve glared, his eyes boring into Tony's as if he was trying to see through him, or see into him. Tony dared not blink, suddenly feeling exposed despite his ready weaponry, and wandered briefly if he'd actually fire at Steve. A moment passed in thick tension. And then Steve smirked back. "I could take you apart with less than that."

And in a stride Steve had reached Tony, pushing his armoured hand out of the way, in a move he'd practiced many times on the battlefield, and shoved Tony back against the bench, in a move less practiced, but equally rough and _hot_.

Both their breaths had hitched in the rush of movement, and Tony looked up helplessly into Steve's glinting blue eyes.

"Take me apart.." he whispered, his eyes closing, as finally, _finally,_ he felt Steve's lips crash against his.

**Author's Note:**

> merlin reference ftw


End file.
